Press Roundup

The Turkish Air Force celebrated the 20th anniversary of its establishment at an air force base in Konya on Tuesday with various air shows. Among the spectators were parents of air force officers.

Habertürk: “If Erdoğan announces his candidacy [for presidency], Gül won’t say ‘I am in’,” read the headline of a front-page story quoting Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Çelik. Commenting on the presidential elections that will be held in 2014, Çelik said no one would benefit from an alleged anticipated fight between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül in the upcoming presidential race. Çelik said Gül has too much political experience to place himself against Erdoğan for the presidential seat; he must know that such a rivalry would harm their party.

Taraf: A front-page story of the daily reported on poor prison conditions in Turkey, an issue which has been on the public’s agenda after a fire erupted in a Şanlıurfa prison on Saturday and claimed 13 lives. The story said that following the fire in Şanlıurfa, a wave of rebellions emerged in prisons in the provinces of Adana and Gaziantep. Focusing on a prison in Mardin, the story said there were 1,000 inmates in the prison, which only has a capacity of 380 people. In each ward, which should only hold 20 people, there are approximately 66 inmates and only one toilet.

Vatan: “Democracy for 20 minutes,” read the headline of a top story in the daily, reporting that the Muslim Brotherhood had declared on Monday that its candidate, Mohammed Mursi, had won Egypt’s presidential elections. But the military handed themselves the lion’s share of the power over the new president, as generals issued an interim constitution granting themselves sweeping authorities that ensure their hold over the state and president.